Spanish GP: Konica Minolta Honda preview

Konica Minolta Honda hopeful of better things at Jerez
Konica Minolta Honda are confident of better things at this weekend's
race at Jerez in southern Spain. At the first round in Qatar ten days
ago, a steady start saw Shinya Nakano come home in...

Konica Minolta Honda hopeful of better things at Jerez

Konica Minolta Honda are confident of better things at this weekend's
race at Jerez in southern Spain. At the first round in Qatar ten days
ago, a steady start saw Shinya Nakano come home in 10th place, while
other championship challengers crashed around him. Finishing the
race was the aim for the former 250GP runner-up, but as the season
progresses, both Team and rider are confident of improved results on
the new-for-2007 800cc V4. The Konica Minolta Honda Team have been
scrutinizing the data from Qatar at their technical headquarters in
Verona to ensure that the lack of corner-entry confidence that afflicted
Shinya at the Losail circuit isn't a problem in Spain. It is hoped that
the tighter Jerez circuit should better suit both the bike and the
29-year-old Japanese rider's style.

Gianluca Montiron - Team Manager Konica Minolta Honda

"We all expect maximum effort from each other, the rider, Team and
myself - this is why we compete, so we will give 100% at Jerez. Qatar
was the first race in a long season, so I think we will have to be
three or four races in before we have a clear vision of where we are in
comparison with our competitors and at every race we will work hard to
close the gap on the leaders. For Jerez, we are aiming to be in the top
five or six positions. I believe we have the best technical package in
MotoGP, but everything must work at 100% for us to give the best package
to Shinya and then he can improve too. We acquired a lot of information
from Qatar GP, they'll be useful to make steps ahead in all sectors."

Shinya Nakano - Rider, Konica Minolta Honda

"We learned a lot about the bike at Qatar, but we didn't get a good
start, and this is so important at Jerez, so hopefully we can adjust
something for this weekend. We didn't have any big problems in Qatar,
the bike was stable, and it feels good everywhere, but we need some
strong point in our technical package to move us forward. Everyone tells
me I have a classic 250cc style, which is smooth and hopefully as we
progress this will suit the new 800cc bike. I've tried changing my style
in the past, to try to be more aggressive on the brakes, but then I
crash, so I believe in my riding style! I need a good contact feeling
with the front tyre, but being smooth should also be better for longer
tyre life. I like the Jerez track a lot it's very technical and for
the last two years I've had good qualifying and race positions, so I'm
hopeful of a good result. Jerez always gives me a very special feeling
as it's one of the best GPs to race at and attend. It's a pleasure to
ride in front of so many fans and I'm also very excited that my father
is flying in from Japan to watch! My parents have flown in a few times
to Europe to watch races, but never Jerez. With its unique atmosphere I
wanted to show him the Spanish GP at Jerez. I think he will love it!"

Giulio Bernardelle - Technical Director, Konica Minolta Honda

"We have checked the data from Qatar and we understand that on the
entry of the corner Shinya was not so confident. To help with this we
have decided to test something different with the front tyre on Friday
morning in Jerez, so we shall see how this helps. Machine balance is one
of most important differences between the five-cylinder Honda RC211V
and the four- cylinder 212V, as with the new bike there's more weight
over the front. So, we will make some small adjustments in the machine
geometry to see if that helps. Our base setting from the IRTA test last
month is good, so we are hopeful that Shinya can be fast from Friday
morning. With race starts, we knew what Shinya's habits were with the
Kawasaki and we've tested a lot over the winter with the new electronic
set-up of the starting system on the 800cc machine, so we're hoping we
can improve that also. Jerez is a different track and our winter tests
results have been much better than Qatar, so we're more confident of a
good result at Jerez."